BGF

Plans to turn rice fields running from the River Moei up into the Dawna Mountain Range into a giant construction site of large concrete houses, apartment blocks, casinos and an international airport are causing concerns for Karen community groups. The grand plan to turn thousands of acres of Karen land surrounding the small village of Shwe Koko into a mega…

For the first time, four Karen ethnic armed groups have agreed to hold the district level Karen New Year celebrations on December 26, 2019. Padoh Saw Shwe Maung, the Karen National Union’s Doo Pla Ya District Chairman said. “Karen people have survived many hardships from generation to generation. Even though we are different [armed] organizations, we are the same Karen.…

Security has been beefed up along the Myanmar-Thai border in response to rumors and scaremongering on social media, according to a member of the Karen State Border Guard Force. “Public concerns are high due to propaganda and indoctrination. We are providing security to prevent unwanted problems,” said Major Naing Maung Zaw, secretary of the Karen State Border Guard Forces (BGF)’s…

Continued fighting between Karen armed groups are forcing more villages into all ready overcrowded displacement camps. Temporary shelters holding displaced villagers in Myaing Gyi Ngu have seen an increase in its population list due to the ongoing skirmishes in Mae Tha Waw areas, Hlaingbwe Township of Karen state. A shelter official said that there are about 500 more villagers joining…

Four villagers found sowing seeds on disputed land were arrested on May 23. Officers from the Border Guard Force caught the four villagers as they were planting trees in Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw township. Locals say the plot was made into a protected forest reserve in 2015, but the BGF insists that an overlapping parcel of 600 acres was set aside…

Soldiers from the breakaway Democratic Karen Buddhist Army clashed with the government militia, the Border Guard Force, in Htee Poe Zan village tract near Kawkareik at noon on October 19. The fighting between the DKBA soldiers and the BGF battalion 1017 lasted around 40 minutes, according to local villagers. Major Saw Deedee, Battalion Commander of BGF 1017 confirmed the fighting…

Government troops claim they have now taken control of the Mae Tha Waw area in Karen State following weeks of intense fighting. The fighting was between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the Burma Army and its militia, the Border Guard Force (BGF). A BGF officer on September 19, claimed that the government has taken control over the road link…

The Karen National Union has issued a public statement today, September 13, objecting to and calling for an end to fighting in Mae Tha Wor between the the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the government’s military and its militias. The KNU’s statement said that the current military operation jointly carried out by the Burma Army and its militia, the…

As many as 2,000 villagers from 12 villages in Mae Tha Wor areas have fled their villages in fear of being caught in the crossfire between the Burma army, Government backed militia the Border Guard Force (BGF) and the ethnic Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) troops. Armed skirmishes between BGF and DKBA forces have intensified in recent days in a…

Armed clashes broke out in Karen State between splinter Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) forces and government backed militia. The fighting started in central Karen State on September 2nd, in Mae Tha Waw areas in Hlaingbwe Township, and has continued over the last few days. According to both BGF and DKBA sources, four armed clashes were reported within a day…